Unexpected destination/Watery World Wednesday

Expect nothing.

Live frugally on surprise.

~ Alice Walker

Linking to Watery World Wednesday

Journey/Watery World Wednesday

The best journeys in life are those that answer questions you never thought to ask.  ~ Rich Ridgeway

Linking to Watery World Wednesday

Twilight @ the east/SWF

These are the skies at twilight from the hilltop at Liloan, Cebu.  The top photo is looking at the northwest, the next three photos are looking towards the east.  The sky was not as as intense as the western sky but the soothing hues of twilight were beautiful nonetheless.

Everything was dry---the grasses were mostly brown, the twigs brittle from the summer heat.  The colorful skies make a beautiful canvas for this otherwise arid and unremarkable landscape. 

"As I grew older, I realized that it was much better to insist on the genuine forms of nature, for simplicity is the greatest adornment of art." ~ Albrecht Durer

Linking to Sky-Watch Friday

Afterglow/Sky-watch Friday

Streaks of purple and orange above the fading light of a fiery summer sunset in Cebu.

Enlightenment
by Samuel Menashe

He walked in awe
In awe of light
At nightfall, not at dawn
Whatever he saw
Receding from sight
In the sky's afterglow
Was what he wanted
To see, to know...

Twilight

by Samuel Menashe

Looking across 

The water we are

Startled by a star---

It is not dark yet

The sun has not set

Looking across

The water we are

Alone as that star

That startled us,

And as far

Linking to Sky-Watch Friday

You're an island/Watery World Wednesday

Your life is an island separated from all other islands and continents.  Regardless of how many boats you send to other shores or how many ships arrive upon your shores, you yourself are an island separated by its own pains, secluded in its happiness.  ~ Kahlil Gibran

Linking to Watery World Wednesday

Bird's-eye view/Sky-Watch Friday

On a late morning flight to Cebu.

Look closely at the second photo---there's Taal Volcano down below.  

More photos of the volcano here.

  

“The reason birds can fly and we can't is simply because they have perfect faith, for to have faith is to have wings.”

~ J.M. Barrie, The Little White Bird

coast of Batangas

Linking to Sky-watch Friday

Saffron sunset/SWF

A saffron-colored sunset beamed as we were leaving Mactan Island for other adventures.

"Now more than ever do I realize that I will never be content with a sedentary life, that I will always be haunted by thoughts of a sun-drenched elsewhere."  

~ Isabelle Eberhardt

Linking to Skywatch-Friday

Laguna de Bay/Our World Tuesday

This was the first time that I was able to take an aerial photo of Laguna de Bay---well, at least a part of Laguna de Bay.  The heavily populated area on the lower left of the photo is part of Taguig City.  The superhighway at the edge of the lake is part of C6, a beltway that will connect the southern provinces to the northern provinces of Luzon without passing Metro Manila.

Laguna de Bay is the largest inland body of freshwater in the Philippines with a total area of 95,000 hectares,  with an average depth of 2.8 meters and maximum depth of 20 meters.  It has a 238-kilometer shoreline that covers 49 municipalities and 12 cities in 3 provinces. 21 tributaries drain into Laguna de Bay and the only outlet of the lake is the Napindan Channel  that merges with Marikina River and formed the Pasig River, which meanders along a 24-kilometer course and eventually discharging into Manila Bay.

The lake supports millions of people living in its watershed.  People depend on it for food, transportation, irrigation, among others.  Fishery  and aquaculture are major industries in lakeshore communities, and the lake is the primary source of freshwater fish in the country. Laguna de Bay also serves as a reservoir for flood waters to minimize flooding in Metro Manila during rainy season and one of the sources of water supply.  The lake is home to a variety of organisms, 31 species of fish, 269 species of plants and habitat for various species of birds.  About 48% of flowering plants and ferns endemic to the Philippines are found by the lake.

Because of the lake's importance in the development of towns and cities surrounding it, the water quality and general condition of Laguna de Bay are closely monitored.  But environmental issues brought about by rapid population growth, land conversion, industrialization and over-fishing are slowly killing the lake. A retired University of the Philippines professor was quoted years ago that the coliform level in the lake is too high "our microbiologists couldn't count it anymore."  

Linking to

Our World Tuesday

 Watery World Wednesday

Yawning cloud/SWF

Call it a mushroom, or a flattered cauliflower---I call it a yawning cloud.  I get sleepy on planes and yawned a few times during this flight from Cebu.  This cloud caught my yawn, for sure.:p

Linking to Sky-Watch Friday

Journey/Mandarin Orange Monday

The seeker embarks on a journey to find what he wants and discovers, along the way, what he needs. ~ Wally Lamb

Here's to new adventures in 2013!

Join us @ Mandarin Orange Monday

Rocky/Watery World Wednesday

“Do not assume that he who seeks to comfort you now, lives untroubled among the simple and quiet words that sometimes do you good. His life may also have much sadness and difficulty, that remains far beyond yours. Were it otherwise, he would never have been able to find these words.” ~ Rainer Maria Rilke

Linking to Watery World Wednesday

Contrast/OWT & WWW

Overlooking a small, crowded pier at Culion Island.  

Moved my camera frame a few inches to the left and captured this serene scene---strikingly different from the jam-packed pier.

We do not live an equal life, but one of contrasts and patchwork, now a little joy, then a sorrow, now a sin, then a generous or brave action. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Linking to Our World Tuesday and  Water World Wednesday

Serene/Watery World Wednesday

Faith is not simply a patience that passively suffers until the storm is past.  Rather, it is a spirit that bears things---with resignations, yes, but above all, with blazing, serene hope.  ~ President Corazon Aquino

Linking to Watery World Wednesday

Banca/Blue Monday

The person who goes farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare.  The sure-thing boat never gets far from shore. ~ Dale Carnegie

Join Sally at Blue Monday

Adventure/Blue Monday

An outrigger approaching the shores of Coron Island as we were leaving for another island adventure.

The core of man's spirit comes from new experiences. ~ Into the Wild

Linking to Sally's Blue Monday

Persistence/Water World Wednesday

People are always blaming their circumstance for what they are.  I don't believe in circumstance.  The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can't find them, make them.  ~ G.B. Shaw

Mangroves in Atwayan Beach, Coron Island

Linking to Water World Wednesday and NF Waters

At the pier/Blue Monday

The ship of my life may or may not be sailing on calm and amiable seas.  The challenging days of my existence may or may not be bright and promising.  Stormy or sunny days, glorious or lonely nights, I maintain an attitude of gratitude.  If I insist on being pessimistic, there is always tomorrow.  

Today I am blessed.  ~ Maya Angelou

Linking to Sally's Blue Monday

Gold/SWF

Love is what we are born with.  Fear is what we learn.  The spiritual journey is the unlearning of fear and prejudices and the acceptance of love back in our hearts.  Love is the essential reality and our purpose on earth.  To be consciously aware of it, to experience love in ourselves and others, is the meaning of life.  Meaning does not lie in things.  Meaning lies in us.  ~ Marianne Williamson

Cauayan, Negros Occidental

Linking to Sky-watch Friday